The First Seven Days (Genesis 1:1-5)
God’s power amazes me.
- When I watched my wife give birth, I was amazed at how God designed women to carry a child for nine months.
- A couple weeks after RJ was born, there was a huge meteor shower in the middle of the night. RJ wasn’t sleeping that night, so Tammy and I took turns going outside and watching meteor after meteor streak across the sky while the other one rocked RJ.
- I’ve been to Niagara Falls twice—once on the American side and once on the Canadian side. There’s nothing like hearing that roar and seeing that water’s power.
- In 2017, my family and I traveled to Tennessee to witness the total solar eclipse. There are no words to describe experiencing a total solar eclipse.
I’m sure you have also been constantly amazed by God’s majestic power. How many of you men were in awe when she gave birth to your children? How many of you ladies were amazed by God’s power when you felt that tiny human move inside of you for the first time? How many of you have stood at the Gulf of Mexico or Galveston Bay and been in awe of the water’s power? How many of you have been amazed by the weather’s power—whether a hurricane or a tornado or lightning or snow? How many of you have been in awe of the beauty of a cloudless night with the moon and stars arrayed in all their majestic glory?
This morning’s text tells us this power comes from God himself. In Genesis 1-2, the author told the world of God’s great creative power. In fact, the message we need to hear is: “God has unlimited power.”
Scripture (Genesis 1:1-5)
verse 1:
“In the beginning.”
Apparently God created the world in some form and then came back later to finish shaping it for his purpose.
“God created the heavens and the earth.”
The Hebrew word “Elohim” (God) is plural; in fact, “Elohim” is always plural in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew language intensifies nouns by making them plural. God is so majestic, so “other,” that a single noun just doesn’t do him justice.
The Hebrew verb “create” only has God as the subject in the Hebrew Bible. Only God can make something out of nothing.
“The heavens and the earth” refers to the cosmos, everything God created.
verse 2:
“The earth was without form and void.”
“Formless” in Hebrew really means “without purpose.” The idea is that the earth did not yet have the purpose for which God desired it. The rest of Genesis 1 shows God’s preparing the earth for his purpose.
verse 3:
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
Notice God’s power right here. God simply spoke and light came into existence. God’s power is so great that his very words come to pass.
verse 4:
“And God saw that the light was good.”
The Hebrew word for “good” does not refer to aesthetic beauty but to purpose and harmony. The light’s purpose is explained right in this passage—to separate the day from night.
verse 5:
“God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.”
One’s naming an object shows one’s sovereignty over that object. The fact that God names the Day and the Night demonstrates his sovereign authority; after all, God created the Day and the Night.
Application
“God has unlimited power.” You know how the rest of Genesis 1 goes: God created the sky; God created the dry land and the seas; God created plants; God created the sun, moon, and stars; God created the sea creatures and the birds; God created the “livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth;” and God created man. We don’t have time this morning to delve into each creative act of God, but each creative act demonstrates that “God has unlimited power.”
You obviously cannot create the world, and God has ceased his creative work. Therefore, how does God’s unlimited power impact your life?
One: God has unlimited Pardoning Power.
God has the unlimited power to cleanse you and every other creature under heaven of every single sin. There is no sin so horrible or so heinous that God cannot forgive.
If you want proof of that, look no further than Saul of Tarsus. When Luke first introduced Saul, we find that he took care of the garments of those who stoned Stephen (Acts 7:58). After Stephen was stoned, “Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3). Paul said of himself: “I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” (1 Tim 1:13).
Yet, God saved Saul. Why would God save a man who persecuted the church? Well, Paul explained: 1 Timothy 1:15-16. The Lord Jesus forgave the heinous crimes Saul committed to demonstrate that there is no sin he cannot forgive. You have never committed a sin so grave that God cannot forgive; there is no such thing!
Are you struggling with guilt over past sin this morning? Know that God has great Pardoning Power. Do you feel unworthy of God’s love and forgiveness? Know that God has great Pardoning Power. Is there a sin that plagues your life? Know that God has great Pardoning Power. He only asks you to turn to him.
Two: God has unlimited Prayerful Power.
God has unlimited power to hear and answer prayer.
- “I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Lk 11:9-10).
- “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (Jn 14:13-14).
- “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (Js 5:16).
God hears and answers prayers! Granted, he answers them according to his perfect will, but he does so with unlimited power.
What heartache do you need God to heal? Take it to him in prayer and witness his unlimited Prayerful Power. What worries do you have for tomorrow? Take them to him in prayer and witness his unlimited Prayerful Power. What strength do you need to face tomorrow? Take it to him in prayer and witness his unlimited Prayerful Power. What friend or family member is struggling? Take it to him in prayer and witness his unlimited Prayerful Power.
“God has unlimited power.” God will forgive and save you with that power, and he will hear and answer your every prayer with that power. Do you need his power this morning?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.